


Small Gestures

by Elementhyde



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28713825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elementhyde/pseuds/Elementhyde
Summary: small fluffy kieran and f!reader piece for the rdr-secret-santa over on tumblr.
Relationships: Kieran Duffy/Reader
Kudos: 17





	Small Gestures

“Kieran? You ain’t got nothin’ to be scared of about talkin’ to him. He’s as harmless as they come!” Tilly chuckled and a rush of embarrassment washed over you. 

“I know, he’s just about the sweetest man there is. I just, I just don’t know what we would talk about! We ain’t got nothin’ in common.” You said, defeatedly.

“You know anything about horses? Because, next to Arthur, I ain’t ever met anyone who loves horses that much.” Tilly replied.

“I can’t say I do.”

“Well, there you go! You want to spend more time with him, have him teach you about horses!” She put her hands on her hips. “Do something! You’re driving us ladies wild by moping around because he won’t give you the time’a day. He’s as timid as a field mouse, you think he is gonna try anything with the boys around?”

Tilly was right, Kieran kept mostly to himself, especially around the women, though he was always pleasant enough. The gang had started to warm up to him in the last six months, but he still spent a lot of his time alone with the horses. 

“You’re probably right.” You said, standing up.

“Of course I am.” Tilly smiled smugly. “Now go talk to him, I think he was cleaning one of the saddles last I saw him.” She said nudging you gently with her hip before going to finish her chores.

_Right. Tilly’s right, just go talk to him. You’ve talked to him before, no problem!_

You made your way over to where the horses were grazing, nervously watching them. You didn’t know much about horses, that was true, but they also made you kind of anxious. Such a big animal, all that power, they could kill you so easily. Maggie raised her head as you passed, making you take a step to the side. 

“Oh, hey there miss! Need somethin’?” Kieran’s voice was warm as he rounded the wagon, his hands full with some fresh water for the horses.

“Just, uh just wanted to come look at the horses.” 

Kieran poured the water into the tin bath, and turned back toward you, a smile plastered on his face.

“You like horses?”

“Well, I actually don’t know too much about horses. They kind of scare me.” You rubbed your arm nervously.

“Scared of ‘em? How can you be scared of somethin’ so sweet?” He walked past you to Maggie, running his hand along her flank and she lazily raised her head. “Maggie here? Gentle as a kitten, c’mere, I’ll show ya!”

He waved his hand for you to join him and you took a cautious step forward. 

“C’mon now, she won’t bite, will ya Maggie?” He took her face in his hands and gave her a scratch under the chin. 

You inched your way up behind him. A stupid grin spread across your face as you watched him gently kiss Maggie’s nose. He reached back for your hand and you felt your ears get hot as his fingers laced between yours.

He pulled you in front of him, bringing your hands up to brush lightly along Maggie’s neck. Her coat was smooth against your hand and you felt her lean into your touch.

“See? No more than a kitten.” He said in your ear. “Horses can read your energy. Did you know that? The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed they are.” 

He released your hand, taking a step back and you exhaled, releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“How can they tell?” Maggie turned her head to look at them as Kieran backed up, flicking her ears, annoyed that the attention had stopped.

“Don’t really know, might be because of how we have worked with horses for a long time.” He shrugged.

You watched as he picked up a brush and moved farther into the herd. Kieran gestured for you to follow him and you moved reluctantly into the herd. “C’mon miss, you gotta meet them all!” 

He stopped in the middle of the herd and a few of them moved toward him, vying for his attention. Ennis spotted you and pushed his nose into your arm, pulling gently on your sleeve.

“No, no, uhhh...”

Kieran looked up as the horse really began to tug. “Ennis! No, leave her alone. Shoo! Shoo!” 

Ennis snorted and walked away, flicking his tail in agitation. Kieran apologized profusely, promising he just wanted a treat. He pulled you closer to the middle him near the center of the herd. 

He spent the next half an hour telling you about each of the horses and how they all had their own personalities. Showing you how to brush them, and how each has its own preferred brushing. You were in awe, watching him, he cared so much for them and he was so sweet to them. He turned back, offering you the brush.

“Now you try, miss!” His smile was bright as you took the brush from him, his cheeks tinged with pink as your hands met and he turned quickly, calling Branwen over. “Branwen’s my horse.” He cleared his throat and muttered. “But I’m sure you knew that…”

You brushed out Branwen the way he showed you. He watched you for a few minutes before disappearing to return to his chores. Branwen watched you, her gentle eyes following your movements, she nuzzled you as you neared her face, closing her eyes as you took her face in your hands, gently petting her as Kieran had shown you. Maybe horses weren’t as scary as you thought, in fact, you found that you actually kind of liked them. The horse leaned into you as you finished and Kieran chuckled.

“I think she likes you.” He said, placing a bale of hay down and pulling a knife from his belt, making quick work of the bindings. “Here, give her some hay, then she’ll love you.” He pulled some hay from the bale and held it out for you.

You took the hay, offering it to Branwen who whinnied happily, taking the hay from your hand. A smile pulled at your lips. They definitely weren’t scary, giving her a gentle scratch on face.

“Thanks.” You said as Kieran joined you, his hand full of hay as he led Branwen to graze with the others. “For letting me help you today.” 

“Oh! Ain’t nothin’, really!” He clapped the dust from his hands. “So, ya still scared of ‘em?” Taking the brush from you.

“I don’t think so.” You shook your head. “I should, uh, I should get back to my chores. It was real nice talkin’ to ya.” Kieran’s face turned bright red, and he mumbled that he enjoyed it too.

\-- ♞ --

It had been about six months since the boys had brought him back to camp, and it had been nearly another month before they let him off that tree. Some of the women had snuck him a bit of food and water here and there, but even then, most of them steered clear, leaving the job to you.

Despite everything he had been so polite, when he was awake. Dutch had warned everyone not to feed him or give him water, but watching him, day after day, had been too cruel. 

It started with sneaking him a drink of water, late one night, after most of the rest of the camp was asleep. Just a small sip, too scared to get caught. He had whispered his thanks through chapped lips, a small smile cracking them further.

Then again when you saw him around camp, tending to the horses, doing the chores no one else would. Still the group kept him at arm’s reach, only Arthur would talk to him, threaten him. He smiled through it, wished everyone a pleasant day, thankful to be alive.

Slowly the gang began to accept him and you spoke more, in passing. Polite niceties around the fire, greetings over coffee, but still he kept mostly to himself. It was endearing, he could have left, found someplace where people would have accepted him, but he stayed, wanting to belong. 

You remember the night that you realized your feelings for him, the night he said he stayed here, because despite everything, the gang had been nicer to him than Colm ever was. It had been late. Everyone had been drinking, celebrating a successful score, and you were sitting at the fire. Only a couple remained: Kieran, Uncle, Reverend Swanson and yourself. The men might not have heard it, his low and tearful admission, each of them lost in their own demons, but you did. Suddenly overwhelmed by his confession, he apologized and disappeared into the night. 

He wanted to feel loved, wanted to belong, and it had struck you so deeply. 

\-- ♞ --

You settled between the girls at the fire, the sun just ducking below the horizon. Tilly had cornered you shortly after you went back to your chores. 

“So?” She sidled up to you behind Pearson’s wagon, a cat-like smile crawling across her face. “How’d it go?”

“I learned a lot about horses.” You brushed her off, pretending to pay attention to your chores.

“C’mon, you can tell me!” Tilly whined.

“That’s the God’s honest truth, Tilly!” You sighed, returning the dirty dish to the basin. “He taught me a bit more about horses. He was real sweet about it.” 

Tilly huffed and crossed her arms before a sly smile started to creep across her face once more. She waved at you and turned to leave.

“Well, if you don’t want to tell me.” She called over her shoulder as she sauntered off around the wagon. You stared after her, your face twisted in confusion when you heard someone come up behind you.

“Evenin’ miss.” The familiar voice came from behind you, and you silently cursed Tilly before spinning around to greet Kieran. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I wanted to see if I could help ya with your chores…” he paused, “...since you helped me, I mean.”

You gasped slightly in surprise, feeling the heat rush to your cheeks. “Oh, heh, it was nothin’. You don’t need to waste your time helpin’ me.” You turned back to your chores, to hide your face.

“I, uh, I don’t think it’d be a waste.” Kieran stepped forward, offering you a small smile as you looked over at him.

He picked up a rag from the counter and held out his hand. “To be honest, I like spendin’ time with you.” He looked down as his face turned all shades of red.

A small chuckle escaped you. Tilly had been right. “I like spending time with you, too.” You held out a bowl to him.


End file.
